Renee Perry
Renee Perry, a narcissistic diva from Manhattan, is a sexy and sophisticated party-girl by nature who became disenchanted with her humdrum lifestyle and decided to move to the Lane, in close proximity to her sorority sister from college, Lynette. Renee ruffles the other housewives' feathers with her aggressive behavior but eventually develops close friendships with her neighbors. After a spat with Lynette due to a 20-year old secret, Renee begins to show her softer side and reveals her desire to start a family. She has since developed a relationship with a new neighbor from Australia, Ben Faulkner. Biography 'Early Life' At a young age, Renee's mother killed herself. ("Everything's Different, Nothing's Changed") She had tried it once before, but Renee had found her just in time and managed to save her. One morning she saw the same, empty look in mother's eyes, but her mother assured her that she was fine and Renee went to school. When she came home, her mother had killed herself and left a note saying "I'm Sorry". ("What's to Discuss, Old Friend?") Afterwards, Renee became 'daddy's little nightmare'. ("Who Can Say What's True?") After her mother's death, Renee was bounced around charities such as soup kitchens, which led to her hating going to places like that later on in life because they remind her of her past. ("Making the Connection") Sometime in college, she met Lynette Lindquist. The two were roommates and soon became best friends. (Remember Paul?) Some years later, Lynette became engaged with Tom. However, the two briefly broke up, and whilst she was over at her mother's, Renee slept with Tom, and developed things for him that went asleep for 20 years until she got closer to him. ("Where Do I Belong?") Later in her life, Renee married famous Yankee player Doug Perry, and the two moved to New York together. Somewhere down the line, Doug cheated on Renee with his agent's assistant, Tina. They then had a divorce in which Renee received twelve million dollars. They were married 8 years. ("Remember Paul?"/"Who Can Say What's True?") 'Season 7' Renee arrives on Wisteria Lane to see Lynette as a worn out housewife wheras she is looking extremely glamorous. Lynette explains to her children that Renee is her old friend from college who married a famous baseball player. The two exchange banter and soon Renee makes it personal when she implies that Lynette did not succeed, Lynette later confronts her and asks her why she visited just to mock her, Renee soon reveals that Doug is divorcing her becasue he slept with his agent's assistant. ("Remember Paul?") Renee soon starts spending way too much time with Tom and Lynette grows suspicious that she is trying to wreck her marriage, Renee reveals to Lynette that Tom does not feel she listens to him enough. Lynette confronts Renee about it when she see's Tom and her having dinner together, Renee denies it and tells Lynette that there is a man in the other room whose wife isn't willing to help him. Renee later buys and moves into Edie's old house and Tom tells her that Lynette must never find out what happened between the two of them years before. ("You Must Meet My Wife") Renee invites Bree out clubbing as she spots similarities between them, they are both recently divorced, Bree reluctantly accepts. At the bar, Renee hits on Keith whom Bree is interested in. She takes him home and Bree brakes her sprinklers with a golfclub and calls Keith over, Bree and Renee begin war. ("Truly Content") Renee finds out that Bree is a grandmother from Lynette and calls over Danielle and Benjamin to "cheer Bree up" to make Bree seem old to Keith. Lynette tells Bree that Renee has a fear of Little people and whilst on a date with Keith, Renee is startled by one and satrts screaming, Keith dumps her for Bree. ("The Thing That Counts is What's Inside") Renee bonds with Gabrielle as they are both the beautiful people of the lane. Renee reveals that she slept witho, Doug's divorce lawyer to get a better settlement from him. When Doug wants Renee back, Gaby thinks it's a bad idea, so she tells Doug that Renee slept with his lawyer and Renee and Gaby get into a huge catfight, Doug does not take her back. ("Let Me Entertain You") Renee hosts the neighborhood Halloween party and dresses as Maralyn Monroe, she tel ls them that no children are allowed to come. Renee reveals to Bree that Keith might be a "little crazy". ("Excited and Scared") Renee wants to start a new interior design business with Lynette, after a little persuation, she acceots. They hire Susan as a nanny however Susan thinks that she was wanted to join the business, she is dissapointed. When Lynette and Renee are talking with a client, Susan offers her ideas, Renee is mad at her as she thinks she made her look incompetant. ("A Humiliating Business") Renee invites Lynette to Thanksgiving and Lynette accepts, as she has already invited Susan to her house, she asks if she can come too, Renee says yes but isn't happy about it. She later answers the door to Tom Scavo wearing nothing but a towel, he blushes and she laughs saying that he's seen under the towel before, she says she is not hitting on him and asks how she looks, he says she looks incredible. She later reveals that she feels lonely when she is surrounded by so many couples and tells Tom that Lynette "knows how to pick 'em". ("Sorry Grateful") Susan takes Renee out for dinner and Renee begins talking about the love of her life who she let slip through her fingers, when drunkenly stumbling home, Renee revelas to Susan that this man is Tom Scavo. ("Pleasant Little Kingdom") Susan confronts her later and tells Tom that he should tell Renee to move off the lane as it's bad for Lynette. Tom tells her and Renee is distraught at Susan. The two argue, and after the riot breaks out, they are so busy doing so that Susan sinks into the crowd and gets her kidneys trampled. Renee and Tom find her after the riot and call for help. ("Down the Block There's a Riot") Renee takes Lynette out for dinner and tackles with whether or not to tell her that she slept with Tom, she eventually starts crying and comes clean, Lynette begins to exact her revenge upon him. ("Assassins") Renee realises that Lynette is punsihing Tom buy pulling many harmful pranks upon him, Lynette asks her not to say anything to him. Renee appears in the back of Tom's car and tells him that Lynette is very angry and that he should be careful. They later make up. ("Where Do I Belong?") Renee is mad at Bob and Lee when she finds outthat they hired another interior designer for their daughter's future bedroom. They agree to hire her and in doing so, she reveals a deep down desire of her's to have a child, she decorate's Jenny's room exactly how she wanted her daughter's room to be if she ever had one. She is the first to meet Jenny when Bob and Lee intorduce her and they tell her that when Jenny ever needs a woman to talk to, Renee can fill the slot. ("I'm Still Here") Renee tells Susan, along with Lee, that Monroe is a creepy stalker and that she should not receive a kidney from that amn as he is expecting more from her in return. ("Flashback") When Susan starts using her dialisis as an excuse to get things Renee takes her to a fancy restaurant that she had been meaning to try out but couldn't get a reservation. Whilst at the restaurant, Susan collapses and Renee asks someone to call 911. ("Farewell Letter") Renee again expresses her desire to have children, this time to Lynette, and tells her that she's thinking of adopting, Lynette suggests that she instead babysit Paige for the night as a trial-run, Renee agrees. Whilst out on a date, Lynette and Tom see Renee on a date at the same restaurant, she had brought the baby along with her. Then, Renee gives the baby to a waitress, for she cares for her. Shocked, Lynette recovers Paige and gives money to the waitress, for she says to Renee she gives the baby to a cook. Alarmed, Renee looks for Paige in all the restaurant, glaring : "Did you see a baby?!". When she found Lynette, Tom and Paige, Renee is really sorry. The tomorrow, she offers a big crystal star to Paige. Lynette notices the star is heavy and pointed, so too dangerous for a baby. Renee understands she isn't ready to become a mother, and Lynette agrees. ("Searching") After Beth's suicide, Renee still plans to throw her party, however none of the neighbors agree to come because of the recent tragedy, Gaby (the co-host) notices Renee's distain towards Beth and suicide in general and Renee tells Gaby that when she was young, her mother killed herself. ("Everything's Different, Nothing's Changed") When Lynette becomes rich, Renee teaches her how to shop by going out and buying very over-priced clothing. When she sees the dinner Lynette has prepared later, but Tom has to work, she tells her that this is what all of the ourchases truly cost, she went through the same thing with her ex-hpon receiving the gossip first-hand. Renee tells her that she will have to get used to being treated like a second-class citezon now that Tom is a big-shot. ("The Lies Ill-Concealed") The two later design Tom's office however Lynette wants to design it differently to how Tom wants it, Renee changes Lynette's design to Tom's under her nose and Tom is thankful that at least one of them understood him. ("I'll Swallow Poison on Sunday") Renee thinks it's a bad idea that Bree is going on a date with Chuck without knowing anything about him beforehand, she convinces Bree to find out more. Renee does all of the research on him and hands it to Bree, she finds out that he is still married. ("Then I Really Got Scared") She helps Bree and goes to Chuck's ex wife's shop in order to make her happy with purchases and sign the divorce papers. Renee reveals to the girls after receiving a text from Doug that he has been hassling her. She assumes it is because he wants to get back together with her, however, Bob reveals to her that Doug is actually marring Tina as he is a sports fan. Renee then has a very brief, albiet, very full, relationship with her bar tender, Edgar. She is the first to find out that Tom and Lynette are seperated, to which she offers her consolement. ("Come on Over for Dinner") 'Season 8' Ben Faulkner arrives on the lane and he is Renee's first order of business. She immediately hits on him however, he strangely turns her down, which Renee is not used to. ("Secrets That I Never Want to Know") She eventually wears him down however, and he agrees upon a date after she pretends to be nice to Karen after she finds out that he likes old people from Mike. When they do go on the date, Renee is disgusted when she finds out that they were to be spending time at a soup kitchen for the elderly. Once she finds out he's tricking her for his won amusment, she is distraught. She then tells him that she hates places like that because it reminds her of her childhood, he tells her that he went through the same thing and the two bond over it. ("Making the Connection") bond]] Lee asks Renee if she will take his new daughter, Jenny, out shopping for bras as he doesn't like to deal with feminine issues such as that. She agrees, though reluctant, and Jenny and Renee end up bonding. Jenny starts spending more time with Renee and Lee grows jealous. Jenny then reveals that it would be nice to have a mom, much to his dismay, Renee later assures him that it is merely a phase and that he and Bob are doing an amazing job with her. ("Watch While I Revise the World") Renee expresses her suspicion to Lynette that Tom is seeing another woman because he is working out more. She agrees to go with Lynette to the work out class of Tom's suspected girlfriend, they both hate the class. Lynette finds out that Tom is actually dating the girl's mother. ("School of Hard Knocks") After seeing Lynette's sad online dating video, she takes Lynette to a singles bar so that she can score a guy. ("The Art of Making Art") Renee is cold towards Ben since he's been cancelling their dates, he then agrees that he will see her soon. She tells Lynette that she wants the night to be special as it will be the first time she and Ben have sex, so she got Chinese love fluid for the occasion. This does not turn out well when Renee receives a temperature, a rash and severe swelling on the face, she scares all the children of the neighborhood. Ben takes her to the emergency room and discovers what she did, the two become closer for the experience. ("Witch's Lament") Renee helps Lynette realise that Jane is stealing her husband AND her daughter, Penny. ("Always in Control") Renee is present when Cindy tells Lynette that by changing herslef, it saved her marriage whilst at a meeting with Perry-Scavo Designs, Lynette decides that she should try and change for Tom, Renee thinks that it is a bad idea. ("Suspicion Song") After Bree starts drinking again, Ben acts as a shoulder to cry on, however Renee sees them and assumes that they're having an affair. He assures her that he is not however her confidence is later skaen by Chuck when he asks to question Ben's girlfriend, Bree. She sees Bree drunkenly drive off and decides to follow her, thinking that she is off to meet Ben. ("Putting It Together") Renee barges into teh motel room, convinced Bree is there to see Ben, however she soon realises that Bree was about to commit suicide. After this, she moves in with Bree and Bree tells her that she is not her true friend. Renee later expresses that she will not go through another suicide to which she tells Bree about her mother, the two then become friends. ("What's to Discuss, Old Friend?") After being ignored by Ben on the phone, Renee is annoyed, she can tell that Bree is lonely so she takes her out drinking so that she can meet someone new, she is unaware that Bree is an alcoholic at this point. She helps Bree uncover that she enjoys the bar scene and starts her off on her road of slut-hood. Mike reveals to Ben that Renee got twelve million in her divorce, Ben is interested as he is having money troubles at this point ("Who Can Say What's True?") Renee sets Lynette up with her hairdresser, Frank, the date goes awfully and Frank takes his revenge on Renee by giving her a huge perm. Ben proposes to Renee and she accepts, however he admits that he wants to marry her for her money and she dumps him and storms out angrily. Ben takes money from a loan shark and specifically tells him to leave Renee out of it. ("What's the Good of Being Good?") She consoles Lynette who cried during sex with Frank and reveals that she took Bree out drinking, which prompts the others to help Bree. ("Is This What You Call Love?") After Ben has a stress-related attack, Renee pays off the loan shark for him, he makes it very clear that he knows where she lives and she looks at him worridly. ("Get Out of My Life") The loan shark the shows up at her house and demands more money from her, she stands up to him. He goes to her house later and starts to trash the place, Mike catches him and beats him up, the loan shark tells him that he should have killed him. ("She Needs Me") Mike starts watching out for Renee, much to Susan's worry. Renee assures her that he is a good man and later Mike is the victim of a drive-by shooting due to Donny's revenge. ("You Take for Granted") Renee is reluctant to attend Mike's funeral as she is afraid of being blamed for his death, however Bree convinces her to go. She sings "Amazing Grace", beautifully, at the ceremony. ("Women and Death") Renee has now been waiting a while for Ben to propose to her and he finally does. He gets arrested right after popping the question as the police had found Alejandro's body at his construction site, she puts on the ring before he leaves. The next day, after informing her sister, she tells the residents of Wisteria Lane of her engagement but is confused on why everyone keeps fixating upon the body and not her. ("Any Moment") Later, at her Bree-planned bridal shower, Bree is arrested. Gaby planned to spice it up with a male stripper but the arrest put a damper upon things. Renee finds it odd that this body is causing so many arrests. ("With So Little to Be Sure Of") Personality Renee shares many characteristics with Edie Britt. Renee is smart, sassy, attractive and, intelligent. A party girl by nature, Renee also has a sensitive side, which she has revealed to Lynette several times. And she'll do anything to get a man. When the character was originally introduced, she is portrayed as a spoilt rich woman, appearing vain and insensitive. Renee ruffles the other women's feathers with her passive-aggressive behavior at first but eventually develops close friendships with her neighbours. Renee is shown to have a lot of hate for children at first but is later shown to have a soft side for kids, even revealing she once dreamt about having children herself. Renee is Lynette's old college friend and when she arrived in Ferview, she and Lynette become close friends again. It is later revealed that Renee slept with Lynette's husband 20 years ago but Lynette forgives Renee and their friendship remains strong. Relationships :For a complete list of Renee's relationships during the show, see Renee's relationships. Quotations Behind Closed Doors Development Following the eventual cancellation of Vanessa Williams' previous show Ugly Betty, where she starred as series villain Wilhelmina Slater, it was rumoured that there were continuing negotiations between Williams and Marc Cherry concerning whether she would join the cast of Desperate Housewives or not. Reports continued that a new character was to be introduced, filling in Edie's boots, as Wisteria Lane's new vixan and trouble-maker. These rumours proved to be true, and it was quickly announced that Williams would join the show during it's seventh season as Renee Perry, Lynette's college room mate, a vain and shallow New Yorker who has become disenchanted with her humdrum lifestyle. Reception Many fans and critics anticipated Williams' arrival on the show. But when the character finally made her debut appearance in the Season 7 premiere, Remember Paul?, the character and Williams' performance recieved mixed reviews. Entertainment Weekly praised her performance, stating that she brought back a "brand of bitchery" that had been missing from the series since Edie Britt's death in Season 5, and compared the character to Wilhelmina Slater from Ugly Betty. The Star Tribune commented that Williams gave a repeat performance of Wilhelmina. However, Us Weekly gave the character a negative review concluding that it was "rather underwhelming". When the character's multi-arc ongoing storyline involing Tom was revealed, critics began to warm to the character, praising the drama that surrounded her secret. Gallery File:ReneeS7a.jpg File:ReneeS7.jpg Renee2.jpg ReneeS7New.jpg desperate_housewives____saison_7_6.jpg Renee8.png Doug Perry.jpg Renee and Tom help Susan.jpg Bree and Renee.jpg ReneeS8.png Lynette Renee.jpg BenRenee.png Trivia *Originally named "Renee Filmore-Jones". *Following the casting announcement, Williams admitted to having been a fan of the series during its first year, but stopped watching because of the racially insensitive second season mystery storyline. It focused on Betty Applewhite (Alfre Woodard), the series' first black main character. Williams explained to Entertainment Weekly, "Betty had her son in chains in the basement. It was like, 'Really? Do we have to go there with our first Black character?' I honestly fell off the show after that. I think it was just so implausible and just an image that Black folks don't want to see: their child chained and shackled in the basement." fr:Renée Perry de:Renee Perry Category:Main characters Category:Housewives Category:Females Category:Season 7 characters Category:Adulterers Category:Divorced characters Category:Businesspersons Category:Homeowners Association members Category:Wisteria Lane residents Category:Renee's family Category:Season 8 characters Category:Married characters Category:Musicians